Improved liquid-meter



UNITED .STATES PATENT Ormea.

orrori. LEOPOLD, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMPROVED LIQUID-METER.

Specilicatiun forming part of LettersPatent No. l, dated April 7, 1857.

ToaZZ whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, OTTO G..LEOPOLD, of

the city of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamil ton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus .for the purpose of; Measuring and Registering Liquids, particularly Water; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, and tothe letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this speciticatiomin which- Figure I is a perspective View; Fig. II, a longitudinal section throughv the center of the meter; Fig. III, a transverse section through the Vertical spindle H, which communicates the motion -of the Wheel or screw C tothe wheel-work of the index. Fig. lV comprises the three different-views of the closing headplate B at the back `end of the cylindrical case 'D, showing the inletfopenings-and inlet-pipe,

and of which H represents a sectional view, through the line L M, of I, the top View, and K is a view of the inner side of the same,'showing the number and arrangement of the inlet- Openings. Fig. V comprises the three views of the closing headplate f, at the front end of curve of the wings on threads on the tubular inner part or'ioat; and D, alsoa longitudinal v section through the center of the wheel,which,

by leaving out the tubular partor iloat, shows the curve of the wingsor threads on the innerA periphery of Vthe exterior or inclosing case.

' For the purpose of explaining more fully Vthe nature ot'my invent-ion and toshow where it differs from those machines heretofore invented for the accomplishment of the object in view, it would appear appropriate to speak of the principles applied in their practical execution, their deficiencies, andthe consequcntobjections which have prevented their general introduction into usage. Ot' the two kinds of liquid or vwater meters, one receivesits motion from the pressure in consequence of the height of the supply-column, the other 4from the weight or gravity of the liquid that is intended to be measured and registered; or, in other words, the-one is worked by the pressure and the other by the gravity of the liquid.. That kind of liquid or water meter in which the principle of pressure is applied measures and registers 'the passing liquid by an alternate iillingand emptying of buckets or compart-v ments, and therefore requires the packingof the wheel, piston, or that part which, accord. ing to the lnature of the construction, is employed as the first motor, and which as such or as the measurer,communicatcs motion to the wheel-work ofthe index. This packing, of whatever` it may consist, but particularly if of leather or india-rubber, is necessarily subjected to a greater or less degree of friction,

and the consequent wear and tear must sooner or later injure the correctness of the measurement, however true and minute the meter may have been adjusted. Besides this, the inlinences of temperature, the non-elasticity ofthe water, the const-antlyvarying pressure, and

consequently the velocity of the supply, must also necessarily have a tendency to destroy the correctness offthe measurement. While the pressure-.meters admit the rising of the Water to a. proportionate height to that of the supply-column, the other kind or gravity-meters do not permit the-rising of the water above the level on which the meter is placed, because it is required that the force of the water, when lunder high pressure, should be broken, in order to proportion and reduce the supply to a standard quantity, such as the meter is capable of passing; or, in other words, a standard and uniform level has to be established, from which the wheel o r measurer'receives' its supply, and thereby its motiou,'in order to prevent the overflowing of the same.

highest point where the water can be wanted with regard to the height o f the supply-column; but the inconvenience and expense of an additional length of conducting-pipe caused It is therefore necessary to place this kind of meter at the.

thereby,l the impossibility of applying themeter in -cases where the force of the water is wanted, and the difficulty of protecting it against frost when applied outdoors, make the meter unsuitable for general introduction,how ever simple its construction and accurate its measurement.

The present system of taxing houses in those cities the inhabitants of which depend almost exclusively on the supply of waterworks, the uncontrollable Waste attending it, the additional expense caused thereby, the necessity of preventing at the same time all abuses by which fraudulent consumers impose on the tax-paying community, have made it desirable to both dispenser and consumer to establish a more equitable mode of taxation. To accomplish this object successfully, the application of a meter seems to be indispensable. I have endeavored therefore to construct an apparatus which at once is much simpler and more perfect in its arrangement, as well as in the mode in which the measurement is eEected,

than any of the others, and being at the same time more durable and considerably cheaper is doubtlessly better adapted for general introduction.

The inlet-pipe A, to the outer end of which the connection with the supply-'pipe is made, is circular and conically-enlarged toward the closing head-plate B, of which it is a part. The upper half of this conically-enlarged inlet-opening is closed, 'leaving thereby a somewhat semi-conical passage to the liquid,which terminates in. an appropriate number of small circular inlet-openings A, by which the liquid is discharged into the case D and upon the wings or threads ofthe wheel, which is made to revolve close to the same. are so arranged and their position to each other as well as to the center line of the meter,is such that the divided stream of the entering liquid strikes the wings of the wheel in an oblique line and at the points of greatest leverage, resembling therebyin its course to the wheel a spiral. The number of these holes, and consequent-1y the diameter of each, is determined by the sizeof the outlet-orifice, and is proportioned so that the total area ofthe holes somewhat exceeds the area of thesame or that of the conducting-pipe, in order to neutralize the greater friction which liquids sustain in being passed through smaller pipes in comparisonwith larger ones. ment of having the inlet-opening at the point of discharge upon the wheel proportionally enlarged and the stream divided lthe liquid is distributed over a larger area of the wheel,and thereby the increased momentum or impulsive force of the liquid is used to betteradvantage, and a comparatively smaller wheel is made capable of passing a greater quantity without interfering with the uniformity of its motion under the respective velocities of the passing liquid. The holes also serve to prevent any gross impurities which the water may carry in its course from getting to and settling between These holes A By this arrange-` the wings ot' the wheel. On the inner side of the closing head-plate B three offsets are tu rned,- of which the diametrically-larges't one serves to make the grounded joint with the case D. The second is made to fit nicely into the case,'and the third, or diametrically smallest,leaves,when thehead B is attached to the case D,aicylindrical recess wide and deep enough to receive the lap ot' the inelosing-case of the wheel and to permitits revolving freely and closely. At the center of the headfplate B and on the same inner side another recess or cavity is turned,also wide and deep enough to receive the lap part of the tubular center part or tioat of the Wheel and to permits its free and 'close revolving. By this arrangement the liquid which enters through the vinlet-openings A is forced to pass in its outward course through the wheel and to strike the wings or threads of the same.

As it is essential for the successful aceonl plishment of measurement and registry,in the application of the velocity principle, that the wheel` or screw should revolve in theprecise speed of the passing liquid, it is absolutely necessary to remove as much as possible all friction and to construct the 'wheel as light and sensitive as possible. In the course of experiments made for the purpose of ascertaining the most suitable form and arrangement of the parts of the wheel, not with a view and in regard to its respective percentage of power, but its greater or less degree of sensitiveness and lightness, it was found that not only certain proportions between width,

depth, and the eurvative inclination of the wings were to be strictly regarded, but also that the sensitiveness of the wheel and its reciprocal uniformity of motion under the alternate influences of higher o1' lower press ure and the corresponding velocities ot' the passing liquid were essentially affected bythe.

manner in which one or the other or both actions of the water or liquid were brought in requisition and made to operate on the wings or threads of the wheel- In due consideration of these observations, as were demon` strated by the variously shaped, arranged,

and proportioned wheels employed in my trials, I was induced to adopt, in preference to others, the wheel herein'described, and lay full claim to all the rights of priority and the .protection and privileges of Letters Patent to which I believe myself to be entitled as the rst and original applicant of this or anyother similarly-constructed wheel in the construe- 'tion of'an apparatus that purposes to measure and registerliquids, particularly water, -on the Vprinciple ofl velocity, and in a combination of parts and in a manner similar to the one here specified.

The wheel or screw C of my apparatus is lconstructed ofand comprises four distinct parts.

First, the tubular or hollow cylinder,which forms the base or axis for the th reads or wings,

and which, being closed at both ends by conpi pe.

means thefifiction stconsiderahly reduced at the points. oit-suspension I and l', and conse# q'uentl-yfthe sensitiveness of the wheel greatly increased, so that the wheehwith the addition' of this eaiential improvement to the peculiaritynf form and arrangement ot' the wings, is .iliade to 'revolveby the mere impetus of a breath. n I y Secondly, the wings or threads are in this` combination ofa curvative shape, nidiatingly f, arranged and fastened to the hollow cylinder or float; ina manner resembling the threadsof a screw, so to meet in their extended lilies toward the axis of the wheel, with their coinmon center in the center line ot' the wheel, leaving,r between it` leaves or inclined plates spaces of equal area and shape, each thread or wing covering by its angle of sideward inr clination on the circle of the tubular axis, as 'well as theexterior iiicl'osingcaee, its own a-iid f either the whole or part of the iuletopening of the next following wing; or, i'n other words. thetwist of each wing or thread around the axis is such as to lbring the radiating line ot' the one wing at the one end of the wheel either 'in a directlyopposte one of these'cond following one at the other end of the saine or otherwise between the two. The uiiiulierof wingsor threads each wheel isintended to contain in the different sized meters depends on the diameter ofthe iuclosing case in which it isdesigned t0 revolve, and which hears a Suitable proportion to the diameter of the conducting- The area of each Space or paaiage be` tween two successive wings `Should ai'ways f somewhat exceed the area of each `Small inletopening. so that each paisage may pass egwily and without any greater friction a proportional quan'tity ofthe entering liquid.

Thirdly, the cylindrical caee, which incloaes the wings or threads, and to which the saine are fastened, is perfectly Smooth and exactly circular on hoth inner and outer periphery,

preventing,r thereby. as unich as paisible. any i distortions of the passing liquid, liy which the l uniformity of inotien might be injured, and

, ypermittingthe free and close 'revolving of thei "wheel in tlie case- D, to which itis' accurately f 'and with hzitna Sli-litly-diminislied diameter f adjusted Botti the exterior or-inclosing eme .A 'andthe hclloecylindcr or tloat. of the wheel are'son'iewhat deepertthan the wings, and forni "with their respective projections a rech@ nu vexhead-plntes and made perfectly-air-tight,-i' the current of the'inisiug liquldifinine t serves as, an d iu fact is, atloat,t liat,.to the' ex tentfof. the difference in the Specific gravities of tli'e bul-k o f the atinsphericair-it contains,l and :that of the liquid whiliis displaced by it i when the meter is' filled, thereby'nentralizes or'proportiona'lly halaueesthe weight 'of the metal ofwh'ich-the'wlieel is'composed; or, -`in other words, its rising or 'upward tendency, whenunder water, counteractsth'e downward. precl-ivity of the. iuetai'sg weight. Bv this and without any escape sidewise into th Fourthly, the' small Spindle or axii vwheel is made of hard nietalfor the I Vof .resisting more cil'ectually the. inlluc wear and tear.A Att the point of suspc the spindle o r axis is pointed conieall; -angle of sixty degrees, with its sh'arj roundediot, and is nicely fitted to a 'spouding'cai itjal: tlie-ceiiterofthehai ing head-plate 1i. The front or oppos .ot' the axis I' contains a conical cavi 4 b nseci'rcle ot' which 'is a little wider tl corresponding one ofthe eonically-poin sliglitly-roiiiided end of the Small adjiis vset -screw K, which, passing throught ter ofthe front dosing headplate F, si the axis and facilitates the easy and i ate adjustment. ofthe wheel in its prop on the revolving points of itsaxis, prt` by this means at the sanie'tiine the ri surfaces of suspension against any im] which the liqada` current might com ward it. 'l'he .wiiceh as a matter of should he well halanced on its centers pension-that is, the weiglitshould he distributed over all parts ofthe Swing cle of the wheel, a'iid thereby the tend stopping always at a certain point of il lution oliviated when the wheel is gen in motion. For reasons which will he understood from the 'nature of the :ip` the 'wheel should he executed with st ill accuracy and niccty than the 'gcneral ter oftlie meter requires in its other i As alread'y mentioned. this meter d require any packing of the wheel or in( and therefore will preserve the correct the tirst adjustment iiudcraiiy pressnrl passing liquid and as long,r as the rcv`ol the wheel is preserved, lnecause the in nient and registryare obtained liyinsert tlie'tlow or stream of the liquid a fric and highlysensitive wheel, which is i revolve in the exact proportion to the i under which the liquid passes; and il established axiom of science. velo( Hilux) proportioiiing quantity." insu correctiiessc-t' niezmurement in t he mani adopted and described. From llie :it lli-e liquid upon the wings or thread` wheel, from he principle involved. :i gem-ral arrangement of the apparat us he easily inferred that no iatert'ereucl with regard te thc current or t he velocit pai-dug liquid. liure the wheel conatan instantly gives way to the merc mpetu flow of the passing liquid, This assert heen fully dcmoiist rated by actual trial for that purpmie. barrel offorty-two was repeatedly filled, liotli with and i the meter attached, the head-pres-siire i ing the same, and the pipe employed i the back of the wheel, which servesto overlap l outlet-orifice oitive-cighths ot' an incl that portion oroil'set of the hack closinglieath l eter. and in hoih instances the result v ,l plate B, which is intended to direct and pass gard to time was the saine, (two mina y about thirty seconds.) These trials were rel f peated .iu various elevationsot c c t forty .tcct up to a'pout' where but ten-feet lieadpressure remained, andthe resultsproved the sameas betoreunder a proportioned lierenceA in 'the time 'of lllin'gto the height 'ol'V the supply. Another series of trials with a mouthSpiece' similar to the one used 'iu the lire-.engine de- 4partaient. and iu which a'. jet` of water was thrown, `showed the same etlect in both in'- Atances under the sante conditions as bei'ore. In the progress ot'jthese` trials the fact also made itseltapparent that the position otthe pieter, either in a horizontal or vertical liuc, i hadno effect on the proper actions ofthe meter, and that it therefore is equally well applicable -u either position, which may be most convenient for attachmentand protectionagainst frost, lor hydrantI purposes. 'Thatthe points .ofsuspension arc not exposed to any heet and l `consequent destruction, caused by the rapid l motion of the wheel under a high velocity of A tliepassing \\aiter,isobvious,forthe surround- `ing water acts lubricatingly. and thereby preserves the same.

By means ol' the worm G on the' front end of. the wheels axis the vertical spindle II re-. ceircs it and communicates motion to the wheel-work of theiudcx.` Thisspinfllc is `supported at its lower cnd by an angular piece. V, which is titted and fastened to the inner lperiphery ofthe inch 'lpg-case l). At its up- 'Y per end this spindle'passes through the case. D and receives support from a small .stallingbox, U, which is made to pack thejoint. u'ckskin or any other Suitable material may be employed for this purpose. Both the wheel or screw C and the -spindle H; with its small tooth-wheel. are' incloscd by the cylindrical case D,whicu forms. and is. iu t'act, but an cu larged part ot' the condncting-pipe. [ts diameter, and thereby its proportional length. is d etermined by the size of the outlet-opening. (The diameter of the. cise Vt'nr a live-eighthuch outlet-opening is one and three fourth L inch by two inches long.) The inner pe iphery of this cylindrical case presents a per- 'l'ectly smooth and exactly circular surface. t ot h ends ofthe case are closed by head-plates, I which arcjointcd by Ymeans ot' grinding. and E l l fastened to the tlanges of the case by :tu apu pruprate number of Small screws or bolts L. The closing head-plate I" at the front end ot` the case D is similar to the back one, and coul mins thc outlctopening, conicallyenlarged at i its mouth I'or the purpose ot' facilitating thc free egress ot' the liquid `from -th'e case D and i ot'avoiding as much as possible all reaction caused by the counter-pressure of thc liquid upon the whom-Land also the circular short outlet-pipe E. or` ,as the case may be, the substitutcd faucet.'l The head-plate 1" is nicely l litted and fastened to the case I), so as to bring fits outlet-opening,r in a dircctly-upposite posi'- tion tothe inlet-upeulut*l of the back closing i head-plate D, and to lill up the upper haltof i the space, which is formed by the 'case D at opening. ofpreventingas mitch :Ls possible the ci oi' f standi ng or "dead"l water. so cal-l ,thetront of the wheel by its solid somit shaped jpart,- leaving thereby a semi passage for the liquid' in the case D- l wheelto the .enlarged 'mouth of the This ariangement'is for the thefa'ct that thc surplus "'uter or. liquj tlls the case D when the ine'ter is at while the' outlet-opening remains shui chance of getting away when the tloi liquid is caused by the opening of. t-h orilicer because since the vpressure Aotl tl column necessarily must cause a t'ull tj stantsu ppl y to the meter, and both sui` outlet 4pipe'are lof the salme diameter, rions that the quantityot' liquid passi the meter 'is -instantlyandvfully sup] the inlet. The resisting force ot' this: .water proved fatal to the free and easy ing ot' the wheel, and-theretbre toits se ness, whenever the liquid passes nude velocity. From this observation the sion may be drawn that those p: ssages the wheel, if left open to the straight c the passing liquid, are to the extent am portion to the pressure packed' byth itself. The two circular platesS and t' constitute' the frame for the wheel-wot index, and which are connectedat an priute distance by small columns in a similar to the frame ot a common cl carried by and screwed tothesimicircl rnp T. This stirrup is supported by ened to the top ot' the case D. Vso as the horizontal spindle `\[,with its tootl 'properly geared with the worm ot thc spindle l1. The motion of thc wheel 4 received by the `spindle H is thus tra vto the horizontal spindle )1, which co cates the same directly to the wheelthe index and thereby tothe hands of The diaiplate contains thcpscale, the d of-which may be'extcnded to any desirt tity, each small division designating tl tity ofa standard gallon-measure.

The who-le machinery, meter as wel dex, is incioscd and protected by a. cyl case,which consists ot' three partstom piece, l. towhich the tnt-ter is by means of the footpiece N, and lsmall screws 0 and 0", and which is p with a rim or llange thatserves to rem hold the upper part o r box Q of the ca in't,r exposed only the inlet and outl:- The top of this box Q terminates in what smaller rirn or ott'set, Y, suticien and of a little larger diameter than th tite brass rim,r H,.which holds the glu W and incluses andv protectsthc" dial hands ol' the index. This brass ring is i to the lialplatc by means otsmalltc may be easily removed by turningr l aroundnntil one of those catches has the cavity or llat made on the circli dial-plate, t'or the purpose'ot'scttingt two catches in.

For the purpose of protecting theglass plate, 4

and more particularly to prevent outsiders from intermeddling with the hands of the index, which are movable on their centers, a convex cover. R, is hinged and fastened to the rim or offset Y, and may, if desired, be locked, so that none but the officers ofthe Water-Works may have free accessfor inspection.

Having thus fully described the construction of the apparatus, I wish it to be understood that I neither confine myself to the materials employed, nor to thefparticular` form or ar' rangement of the'several parts of which the same consists, provided the wheel or drum is peculiarly adapted to the registeringof the 110W of liquids; but

I claim- 1. suspending the wheel or drum in the manner described and floating it, so as to reduce the friction of its bearings to the smallest possible amount, and thus, in addition to the other means hereinbefore described, rendering it .peculiarly adaptable to the'registering of the 2. The arrangement of dividing the inletopening into an appropriate number of small apertures, so as to protect the wheel from the gross impurities of the water, and thus preventing its free motion from being disturbed.

' orro G. LEOPOLD.

Attest:

ALEX. PADDooK, CHR. FLEIsE. 

